BOOK INFO
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
About the Author: Erica Vetsch is a New York Times best-selling author and ACFW Carol Award winner, and has been a Romantic Times top pick for her previous books. She loves Jesus, history, romance, and watching sports. This transplanted Kansan now makes her home in Rochester, Minnesota. Learn more about Erica at http://www.ericavetsch.com.
MY REVIEW
As an agent for the crown, younger son Marcus Haverly has often risked life and limb in service of his country. With the demise of his father and older brother, however, he now bears the ducal title. Irked by his mother’s nagging, Marcus comes up with a plan to fulfill his obligations to his family by marrying and siring an heir while still being able to carry on his missions for the crown. And if he’s lucky, maybe the social engagements he could host as a married man will prove even better venues to gather intelligence!
Charlotte Tiptree is a wallflower, seemingly under her father’s thumb. But when Marcus Haverly marries her hoping to find a biddable wife he can ignore, he finds that his wife has many hidden qualities and a mettle uncommon in a young lady. Determined to rescue her half-sister, Pippa, from a life of sin, Charlotte is drawn into philanthropic activity to help all sorts of oppressed women. As Charlotte uses her influence for this charitable work, Marcus begins to question whether her own activities will get in the way of his. As much as he tries to relegate her into a corner, he continually discovers that Charlotte is not content with the way her husband wants to compartmentalize his life. Can Marcus find a way to continue his life of masks and facades when his wife insists on having all of him?
A gentleman and a spy? What’s not to like about that kind of hero? Marcus Haverly, polite, suave, and dangerous, is the perfect hero who just needs to learn to appreciate his unconventional wife. Charlotte, shocked into philanthropic action by the self-righteous hypocrisy of her own father, is a woman of conviction and strong character. The misapprehensions, misunderstandings, and reconciliation between the two are the stuff of swoon-worthy romance, making this a delightful second installment in Erica Vetsch’s new Regency series.
“But sir. Marriage? Isn’t that a bit extreme? I’ve barely accustomed my mind to being a duke. A bride would be a distraction from my work.”
– The Gentleman Spy, by Erica Vetsch
Rosanne E. Lortz 